A ground breaking new guide for companies on how to make e-recruitment accessible has been published by the Employersí Forum on Disability, with support from the London Development Agency (LDA).
Barrier-free E-recruitment: Recruiting Disabled People Online will enable companies to remove the barriers which currently exclude approximately 1.3 million disabled people in the UK from applying for jobs online.
The guide contains concise and practical guidance for Human Resources, IT, recruitment, and other senior managers, making it easier for companies to recruit talented disabled people when they use e-recruitment. The guide is designed to help managers make their entire e-recruitment process barrier-free for disabled users and includes information on the law and tips for building an accessible website.
E-recruitment or online recruitment is growing fast. In 2002 an estimated 6.3 million people looked for jobs online and this figure continues to grow. Badly designed e-recruitment systems prevent disabled users from applying for jobs online. Around 1.3 million disabled people in the UK are likely to be disadvantaged by inaccessible e-recruitment websites and as many as 91.5 million disabled people worldwide face ongoing exclusion because of inaccessible websites.
The most common barriers for disabled people applying for jobs online are easily overcome and making an existing website accessible, costs on average under 5% of total developmental expenditure. This investment can significantly increase market share by improving accessibility and usability for all users.
LDA chief executive Manny Lewis said:
As more and more companies take advantage of the benefits of e-recruitment, it is vital they make sure their websites are fully accessible to people with disabilities. This guide shows how this can be done at very little cost. It will not only help tackle exclusion, but also ensure companies are able to attract and recruit from as wide a field of talented people as possible.
The launch of this guide comes after the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) recently published the results of its investigation into inaccessible websites. The investigation looked at 1000 publicly accessible sites, to which Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act applies. The findings show that 81 per cent of websites fail to satisfy the most basic web accessibility guidelines.
The Forum has also produced a unique demonstration website. Visit www.barrierfree-recruitment.com for interactive, technical advice for IT managers and website designers on how to make e-recruitment systems accessible. The site also includes further guidance for HR practitioners.
The publication costs 15 for members and 25 for non-members. To order your copy please call 020 7089 2410 and quote reference number PR/09/04
New E-recruitment guide helps business expand talent pool
A ground breaking new guide for companies on how to make e-recruitment accessible has been published by the Employersí Forum on Disability, with support from the London Development Agency (LDA).